There are numerous products and services that provide users with directions from one geographic location to another. These typically generate a complete list of turn-by-turn instructions from the specified origin to a destination, and oftentimes, the instructions are accompanied by a map. The list of instructions is functional, but frequently results in generated instruction sets that include more steps and information than necessary, and that needs to be represented in more physical space (e.g., webpage, device display, printed paper, etc.) thereby requiring more pages. Moreover, this extra unnecessary information makes the directions harder to interpret by the user and causes frustration at least with respect to taking this information on paper because of wasted ink, paper, and time.
A significant percentage of requested directions at least partially contain a section that is familiar to the requester, for example, a section of route instructions near the beginning or end of the list for a home or work location. Furthermore, in many instances the instructions (e.g., approximately one-third) returned specify an inexact origin or destination, such as a postal code or a city. Under both of these situations, a complete set of turn-by-turn instructions from the exact origin to the destination is not necessary and wasteful in both processing and user experience.